


Stranger Things Have Happened Here

by orphan_account



Series: httyd [4]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Small Town, F/M, Gen, Group Bonding, Hiccstrid - Freeform, Hiccup and Astrid are already dating, Protective Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Sci-Fi AU, Small Town Gothic, Warning: Cursing, folk lore, or at least its supposed to, sorta has a stranger things vibe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-12 23:44:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21484801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Do not let your eyes linger on the trees. Some of Berks citizens have spoken of a tugging sensation comingfrom the woods when they stare too long. Some have claimed theysaw a shadow staring back.
Relationships: Astrid & Fishlegs & Hiccup & Ruffnut & Snotlout & Tuffnut, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Stoick the Vast, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: httyd [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544143
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Stranger Things Have Happened Here

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to write a fix with a small town theme with a Stranger Things vibe, and I added some folk lore too. I hope this doesn’t end up being trash, we’ll just have to wait and see...

_ Missing person. Body found in the woods. “All available units near the northern entrance of Berk wood, we got a 10-45D, probable 187.” the dispatcher recites in a monotonous manner. “Be advised, only half has been found.” _

Hiccup woke gasping for breath on the old 80s style couch, causing the others to stop their card game and stare at him with worry, Hiccups heart pounding in his chest and eyes leaking tears. Not real, not real. Just a dream _ , only it’s not just a dream.  _

“Hiccup? Are you ok?” Fishlegs asked, setting his cards down on the table to focus on their friend, Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout doing the same. “What the fuck happened to you?” 

Snotlout asked, leaning forwards slightly in his chair, his bluntness prompted a smack on the head from Ruffnut. 

“Babe?” Astrid asked troubled, wiping a strand of his auburn hair off his forehead

from the couch cushion beside him. “What happened?”

He looked at her, and turned his head to look at his friends’ worried faces. “It’s nothing,” Outside, the rushing wind screeched as it blew against Astrid's house, sounds of crickets screaming and animals crying we’re barely audible.

_ It wasn’t just a dream.  _ “I had a nightmare.”

“Oh nooo, a bad dream? Did we bore lil Hiccup to sleep?” Snotlout gasped sarcastically, earning a murderous glare from Astrid. 

“What was it about?” She asked, turning her attention back to her boyfriend.  _ 10-45D, probable 187, only half has been found. Dark shadow, watching from behind a tree…. _

“Nothing. It was nothing,” He looked at the others and leaned back against the couch, “Don’t worry about it.”

  
  
  
  


-

Driving home from Astrid's house was a fairly simple process, Hiccup manoeuvre the streets of Berk with fair ease. He continued to drive as he got to the intersection, not bothering to stop. No one waits for the light to change anymore, it was pointless. The light is red. The light has  _ always _ been red. As he sped by, there was a Ford pickup from 1966 in the lane next to him. No driver though, that car has been abandoned for years. 

Hiccup turned on to Viking Lane, the road on the outskirts of Berk, the road that bordered the town and separates it from the woods. 

_ Do not let your eyes linger on the trees. Some Berkiens have spoken of a tugging sensation coming _

_ from the woods when they stare too long. Some have claimed they _

_ saw a shadow staring back. “Rule #1,” the elders in the village would say, “Don’t look at the trees, you do not want to find out what lurks within the woods.” _

“ _ Balderdash _ !” Astrid claimed, and Hiccup would agree with her too, but there was no explanation to the constant feeling that he was being watched each time he looked at the dark oak trees, let alone pass by it. 

He pushed the thought away, and kept driving. 

  
  
  


Hiccup hears the crackle of his father’s police radio echo through the house as he stepped through the door, immediately focusing on the sound as he slowly moved into the living room. 

“All available units near Berk creek, we got another 10-45D, most likely a 187.” the dispatcher recites in the same dispassionate tone she's always had.  _ 10-45D, 187.  _ He’d been hearing those numbers for the last few days,  _ they even appeared in his dreams _ , what with his father being police chief and all, it deeply desturbed him. 

Body found dead, most likely a homicide, followed by the occasional and deeply disturbing  _ only half of the body found.  _ This one was by the creek, usually the bodies were found in the forest, the forest that edged their backyard….

Hiccup shivered, shaking his head to rid his subconscious of the thought. 

“Have fun tonight?” Stoick asked once he saw Hiccup enter his office. The police chiefs scottish accent came out rough, Hiccup determined it was due to not speaking for hours. 

“O-oh, yeah, I did.” He rubbed his neck as he slowly walked towards his dad, taking a seat at his side. 

The redheaded man turned towards his son, his rough voice softer. “How are your friends? How’s Astrid? It’s been a while since i’ve seen your friends.”

“They’re good, she’s good…”

His dad chuckled and turned back to his desk, but continued to talk to his son. “I like that girl. You better hold onto her, you’ll never find a future wife better than that young Hofferson.”

“ _ Dad _ !” Hiccups face reddened, his father just laughed in response. “We’re only 17.”

“I know, I know. But i’m serious Hiccup, Astrids a good lass.”

“Yeah I know,” He smiled for a moment before becoming serious. “Have you and Gobber found anything new? Any leads or anything?”

His father let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, punching the bridge of his nose. “Nothing. I’m afraid this might become a cold case. I’ve heard people in the town talking, saying that ‘no possible human could do such a thing’..”

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, prompting Stoick to continue. 

“It’s a bunch of nonsense, desperate people trying to find an answer in a stressful situation. They claim the disappearances and corpses are the work of  _ supernatural beings.” _

“Huh, that’s…  _ odd.”  _ He admits,  _ it was highly odd.  _ Yet for some reason, a part of him didn’t seem to express any disapproval of the idea,  _ they did live next to the woods…  _ Enough Hiccup, get a hold of yourself, enough of these insane thoughts before you get yourself thrown into an insane asylum. 

Shaking his head abruptly to snap himself back to reality, he looked up at his dad. “I'd better start my homework.”

“Very good, off you go.” Hiccup stood, but Stoick called out to him before he left the room. “I know you’re a responsible young man. That being said,  _ be careful, son.  _ I don’t want anything to happen to you, especially with all that’s happening.”

“I will dad, don’t worry.” They shared one more smile before Hiccup went to his room to finish his homework, and Stoick returned to his work. 

  
  
  


-

“The others and I were talking,” His girlfriend spoke on the other end of the phone. 

“Hmm? About what?”

“Fishlegs has a family cabin that they haven’t used at all this year. We were thinking maybe we could go for the week, you looked like you could use a break.”

He thought for a moment. With his father as the head sheriff in the small town, Hiccup was drawn into many different cases over the past years, walking in his father’s footsteps. But in this case,  _ this cold case as of late _ , it had really taken a toll on the two Haddocks. 

Consequently he’d been having nightmares, ones that left him screaming, shaking, gasping for breath, often waking his father who was a pretty heavy sleeper, or sometimes frantically calling Astrid in the middle of the night just to hear the sound of her voice. The dreams were allegedly due to the constant stress in his mindset, or so she suggested. His friends, the twins in particular, hypothesize it was by all accounts due to the recent news that sent terror through the minds of all the townspeople in Berk; the increased rate of disappearances, and number of bodies found originating from the woods. 

_ The woods _ . Everything bad that happens in the town originates from the woods. 

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.”

He could hear the smile in Astrid's voice as she cheered on the other end, prompting a smile of his own. “Oh gods, this is gonna be so much fun!” She rejoiced. “I think deep down we all need this, exam stress and all… but you need this break mode than anybody.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly the tips of his mouth fell as something caught his eye from outside his window. Tilting his head, he slowly moved to the window. “Hiccup? Hiccup?”

He didn’t answer, only stared at the forest that his house backed into. He let out a shaky breath, “ _ What the fuck?” _

  
  
  



End file.
